Originally Posted by
KrazyIvan
Could it be that the self-filling mechanism won him over? The Wirt looks like an eyedropper.
You'll notice in one of the Conklin ads that he mentions it being a "profanity saver" because it won't roll off a desk. That's a secondary function of the protruding crescent, particularly before pocket clips became common.
Until a few years ago there was a "TimeExpo" museum in Waterbury, CT, run by the Timex company (it's closed now). There was a letter there from Mark Twain to the Ingersoll watch company, ordering one of their "dollar watches". Ingersoll was one of Timex's corporate ancestors, and like Timex, made cheap watches for the masses.
This article gives a bit more information on Mark Twain's interest in watches. Before he bought that Ingersoll, he was involved with another company which proposed to bring out a "Mark Twain movement".
I have four functional vintage Conklins, all of which write well, as I recall. I keep meaning to ink one again, but it's been well over a year, maybe two. I've never seen a vintage Wirt; how many are still out there? The only Ingersoll watches I've seen were the ones in that now defunct museum.
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